United needle mounting



Sept, 2, 1941. v. ANDERSON UNITED NEEDLE MOUNTING Filed March 1, 1940 Wm M .1 a w M m w W Patented Sept. 2, 1941 PATENT 2,254,201 unrrsn NEEDLE MOUNTING Victor Anderson, Clifi'side Park, N. 1., asslgnor to Alfred Hoiman & Company, West New York, I N. 3., a. corporation of New Jersey Application March 1, 1940, Serial No. 321,644

11 Claims.

in disclosed may be utilized in full fashioned flat knitting, which is aform of weft knitting as for hosiery, and in other sorts of machine knitting involving the use of a united bank of needles or needle-like instruments, such principles are herein disclosed, for purpose of illustration, as applied to a needle mounting available for socalled tricot knitting, single or double, which is a form of warp knitting, employing one or more extended banks of united needles, cooperating with other instruments including one or more extended banks of yarn or thread guide instruments, each consisting. of a yarn eye upon a shank, which sometimes are quite thin, slender and needle-like; and the principles of the invention may further be applicable in machines for circular as well as for straight knitting.

Various needle mountings are known and have been disclosed in connection with tricot and other kinds of knitting, but these have not proven to bewholly satisfactory, and the general object of the present invention is to provide a needle mounting which will be superior in construction and operation and free of the known defects of prior mountings. Prevailing needle mountings involve a heavy structure of needle bed, sometimes of brass, attached upon an iron needle bar, and a further object of the present invention is to aii'ord a more simple mounting, of relatively light weight, yet possessing the rigidity and strength necessary for power driven knitting machines sometimes running at rates of 275 to 450 cycles per minute more or less. It has been customary to provide a series of clamp pieces or.

blocks for clamping the bank of needles in place clamping means, in relation to the tendencyof lowing description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention or will be understood by those conversant with the subject.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a face elevation view, partly broken away at several points to show details of structure, of a united needle mounting constructed on the principles of the present invention, and of a type suitable for tricot knitting, such as is useful in knitting glove fabrics.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the mounting shown in Fig. l, with the upper part in vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, on an enlarged scale, is a horizontal section view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l'or Fig. 2.

Referring first to the needles l0, an extended series thereof is shown, rigidly united as a needle bank in the mounting to be described. The nee- 0 dles are shown of the type having a barb or eye of the needles. there may be a large number of united needles,

guides.

II at the upper or exposed end, and at the other or lowerend of the shank an angular portion or butt I 2 assisting in the positioning and securing In the case of tricot knitting elements, attached to each other and requiring inconvenient and cumbersome design, they are herein illustrated as combined integrally in a unitary bed-and-bar herein called a supporting carriage 13, the upper portion M constituting the 'needle bed and the lower portion [9 the needle certain needles, coincident with the joints or dividing lines between clamps or liners, to become loose or displaced, impairing the knitting operations or even leading to breakages; and it is another object of the present invention to provide a needle mounting, with clamping means, adapted to avoid this serious objection and to afiord av simple and secure, yet convenient, mounting for the bank of needles. Further objects and ad vantages will be explained in the hereinafter folbar portion of the carriage. This consolidation affords a simplification and lightening of structure, and preferably the unitary carriage is composed of a light'alloy, such as an aluminum alloy of the 5 Duralumin type, possessing hardness, rigidity and strength suflicient for the purposes in hand.

The integratingo'f bed and bar also permits a structural reconstruction of operative value.

The needlebed portion It of the one-piece carriage I3, is shown as having the usual needle view Fig. 3 The grooved face 15 of the bed it grooves or slots in what will be termed its rearat both ends, preventing their becoming clogged;

While the needle bed and bar are integral, they have a smooth and compact outline and there is no definite line of demarcation between them, but the portion below the bolt holes 31 may be considered as the bar, and the portion thereabove as the bed of the needle mounting. The bar l9 at its lowest part may be of its greatest width, the bar :being of narrower width at a higher point, extending upwardly to the bed. At its narrower portion the 'bar I 9 is formed with a notch or recess 2|{ada'pted to receive a clamp flange or tongue 39 as will be described, the notch therefore affording a shoulder or fulcrum for supporting the lower end of the clamp pieces 30, while holding them in proper mutual alinement. 1

The described needle bed and bar, and the clamp to be further described, constitute the characteristic structure hereof, and these parts may be carried and operated in the machine in various ways. For example the elongated needle carriage or its bar portion l9 may rest in the angle seats 23 constituting the heads of a series of carrying levers 24, the lower ends of which are formed into hubs 25 to be suitably mounted on a machine shaft or axle for carrying out the desired needle movements and operations. Fig. 1 shows a carrying lever and seat-forming head arranged at each end of the elongated needle carriage, but preferably there will be three or even a greater number of such levers and heads, so that the bar may be adequately and rigidly supported throughout against sagging. The described system may have rocking movements about the axles of the levers 24, and may have up and down or other conventional movements in accordance with the kind of knitting to 'be performed. For attaching the carriage 13 to the angle seats 23 of the carrying levers there is shown a series of vertical bolts 21 extending through each seat into the needle bar, and horizontal bolts 28 extending through the bar into each seat.

Coming now to the series of short clamp members, blocks or pieces 30 these are in mutual alinement and contact along the length of the needle supporting carriage l3, and each has independent attaching means in the form of a single bolt or screw 36 for tightening it to the carriage, the bolt being in the middle part of the block, between its fulcrum 39 and clamping face 40 to be described, so that its pulling action is like that of a first class lever, the force being between the low fulcrum and the load or pressure point above; and theremoval of the 'bolt permitting removal of clamp block and access to needles.

This multiple clamping system, itself known, designed to facilitate access to a small number of needles to make repairs or replacements, is herein characterized in the feature that the several short clamp members are contiguous to each other along division or joint-lines which are non-parallel to the length of the clamped needles. In other words the needles being considered vertical, the joint-lines between clamp blocks are non-vertical, and this feature is shown to be embodied by designing the blocks with their lines of demarcation at a substantial incline to the length of the needles, as shown, so that the lines dividing the blocks cross the needles, as at a slanting angle, thus insuring that every needle, including those near the joint lines, is fully and firmly clamped, some indeed being clamped each by two adjacent clamp blocks.

'While the joint lines between clamp blocks might be zigzag, wavy or, of other-non-straight contour, the simplest and preferred conformation of blocks is with straight but slanting edges 3|. The slant is preferably between about 10 and 20, being substantial yet not so marked as to impair the powerful pressure action of the clamping bolts. Each joint line or inclined edge crosses several needles, as shown, and any of I these needles may be removed by removing only two blocks; other needles by removing a single block.

In referring to the clamp block joint-lines as being out of parallelism with the needles, this refers mainly of course to so much of each joint line as is back of and corresponds with the clamped portion of the needle bank, that is, with the clamping face 40 of the blocks, being the upper portions of the blocks in the illustrated example; but the inclined joint-lines 31 are prefer-ably continued downwardly across the full height of the blocks, so that each block is shown as a simple rhomboid. Each block between its fulcrum 39 and its face 40 extends across a gap, so that its middle part is like a bridge and is engaged by the pressure producing bolt 36.

Since the extreme ends of the needle carriage or bed are preferably squared, in accordance with custom, the end clamp blocks 32 are conveniently also made square at their outer ends, so that these constitute special end clamps, each having an inclined edge 33 to conform with the adjacent regular clamp, and with an extreme vertical or squared edge 34.

In the cases both of regular clamp blocks 30 and the special blocks 32, each of them is preferably attached and drawn into position by a single bolt 36, engaged in the middle or bridging part of the clamp block and extending therefrom into engagement with threaded bolt holes 31 in the carriage l3; although in lieu of threaded bolt holes each bolt might be provided with an exterior loose nut. As already mentioned each block, along its lower edge, has an inwardly extending tongue or flange 39, which engages with the notch or shoulder 2| of the carriage, this arrangement not merely serving properly to aline and position the blocks but to provide a low fulcrum, between which and the clamping or pressure face 40 of the clamp the bridge part of the clamp extends.

Preferably the practise is followed of providing a strip or liner 42 of sheet material, such as fiber, leather or cardboard, or soft metal, between the clamping faces 40 of the clamps and the needles which are engaged in the grooves of the clamping face l5 of the needle bed. The needle shanks preferably fully occupy the respective grooves, and stand slightly outward thereof, so that when the clamping pressure is applied through the lining material or cushion 42 the needles are effectively put under clamping pressure. The lining material 42 hereof is preferably formed as a series of short auxiliary clamp members, so as to permit removal for getting access to particular needles; and the preferred arrangement is that the successive liners 42 are shaped with contours separated by Joint-lines which are non-parallelto the length of the clamped needles. In one sense it is equally as important, or more so, that the liners be so shaped than the blocks themselves, since the liners, being of softer or cushion material, are more apt to become worn or weakened at their contiguous edges, bringing about in extreme cases a groove which, if parallel to the needles, might allow an appreciable looseness of the needle coinciding therewith. For a full embodiment of the preferred details it is desirable that each liner be shaped correspondingly with the clamp that presses upon it, and that both the liners and the clamps are separated by joint lines non-par allel with, and preferably inclined to, the length of the clamped needles; both are preferably rhomboidal and coextensive, facilitating removal for access to needles.

The needle bed and barbeing integrally united as a carriage, the sectional contour thereof may be materially reformed and made compact and efficient, as shown. The fulcrum notch 2! may be-in about the plane of the clamping face it, with only a minor bay and recess between; and the metal section outwardly beyond the recess need not be excessive to give the requisite strength and stifiness to the bed portion it thereabove. The butt holes 11 are in the depending extension or tongue l6 and this is readily accessible for drilling the holes, which do not impair the solid strength of the entire carriage, which may be composed of a light alloy as of aluminum or magnesium.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a needle bed having parallel grooves for a bank of united needles or the like, and a needle clamping means comprising a series of clamp sections mounted in mutual alinement with their joint lines at anincline to the needle grooves whereby each joint line intersects several needle grooves.

2. In combination, for a fiat knitting machine, a needle bed having at its face a series of parallel seats to receive and position a bank of united needles or the like, and a needle clamping means comprising a series of clamp sections mounted with their clamping faces in mutual alinement and constructed with their joint lines at a substantial incline to the needle seats, in the plane of the needles, whereby each joint line intersects several needle grooves.

3. A united needle mounting for the needles or needle-like instruments of a flat knitting machine, the same comprising an elongated carriage for supporting the bank of parallel separate needles with their shanks clamped against the face of the carriage in parallel, and a series of short clamp blocks each with a clamping face opposed to the clamping face of the carriage and with a clamping bolt for tightening it to the carriage, and characterized in that the clamp blocks are contiguous to each other along jointlines which are at inclines to the shanks of the clamped needles, whereby each joint-line crosses the shanks of a group of several needles and each needle in such group is held by a plurality of clamp blocks.

4. A needle mounting as in claim 3 and wherein the several clamp blocks at the clamping portions thereof are separated by joint-lines extending at a slanting angle to the needles.

5. A needle mounting as in claim 3 and wherein the several clamp blocks at the clamping portions thereof are separated by joint-lines extending at a slanting angle to the needles of between 10 I and 20;

6. A united needle mounting for the needles or needle-like instruments of a knitting machine, the same comprising an elongated bed for supporting the bank of separate needles clamped in parallel seats formed in the face thereof, and a series of separately removable short clamp members each having a clamping face opposed to the clamping face of the bed and having a.

fulcrum edge remote from its clamping face, with a clamping bolt between fulcrum and face for tightening it to the bed, and characterized in that the clamp members are contiguous to each other along joint-lines which are out of paralline and all needles are securely held.

8. A united needle mounting for the needles or needle-like instruments of a knitting machine, the same comprising an elongated carriage for supporting the bank of upstanding needles clamped in parallel against the grooved face thereof, and .a series of separately removable short clamp blocks each having an upper clamp ingface and having a lower fulcrum edge, with a single clamping bolt in the middle between fulcrum and face-for tightening the block to the carriage, and characterized in that the clamp blocks at their clamping faces are contiguous to each other along joint-lines which are inclined to the length of the clamped needles; whereby each of such joint-lines intersects the positions of a small group of needles, each of which needles is thus securely clamped by two adjoining clamp blocks.

9. A needle mounting as in claim 8 and wherein are liner members forming clamping cushions between the clamp block faces and needles, with a liner for each clamp block, and the joint-lines between liners being at a slant corresponding with that of the joint-lines between blocks.

10. In a knitting machine a mounting for a parallel series of needle-like instruments comprising a bed with a clamping face having parallel seats to receive the shanks of the needle-like instruments, and a series of clamp members each with a clamping face opposed to the face of the bed and with a clamping bolt for tightening it to the bed, and characterized in that the clamp members are contiguous to each other along dividing lines which are disposed at a substantial angle to said parallel seats, whereby each dividing line intersects a plurality of such seats.

11. In combination, in a knitting machine, a bank of needle-like instruments with straight stem sections, means for supporting the same including a bed having a width to receive the straight sections of the stems thereof, yieidable lining means providing a cushion for the needlelike instruments in the clamping zone, a series of clamping members which in the plane of the clamping zone are of rhomboidal form and end clamping members which in the plane of the clamping zone thereof are of trapezoidal form, and wherein said lining means is divided into a series of separate pads which conform with the forms of said clamping members; said forms or the clamping members being such that opposite parallel edges of each are in longitudinal alinement, while the transverse edges are at a substantial angle to the straight sections 01 the stems 01 the instruments, whereby each dividing line between members intersects a number of straight shank sections.

' VICTOR. ANDERSON. 

